What is orzo?

Orzo cooks up a lot faster than rice. White rice takes about 15-20 minutes on the stovetop, while orzo cooks up in under 10.

Orzo and rice also have very different textures.

While rice has a pretty firm texture after cooking, orzo has the same tenderness you’d expect from other small pastas, like macaroni. That texture makes it lovely in casseroles, like this baked orzo recipe!

Easy Baked Orzo

There are a few elements that make this recipe easy. Let’s talk about them!

Since you’re not cooking a ton of pasta, you can cook the orzo and canned white beans together right in your Dutch oven. The same Dutch oven you use to bake.

That means fewer dishes to clean up!

Another important time-saver in this recipe is the carrots. Don’t waste time shredding carrots by hand! Most grocery stores sell bags of shredded carrots right alongside the bags of baby carrots. Pick one up and save yourself a ton of prep time.

The pumpkin in this recipe comes straight out of a can, so there’s also no baking pan to clean up.

With all the time you saved, you’ll have supper on the table a lot faster. So while your orzo casserole bakes, kick back and unwind from the workday.

If you’re making this for a holiday dish, you just bought yourself more time to work on other dishes or to hang with your family and friends — whichever appeals to you most!

Creamy Pumpkin Baked Orzo

No one needs to know how easy this creamy, Pumpkin Baked Orzo recipe is. You can serve it on a busy weeknight or at the holiday table.